by Marie Harte
He moaned and slammed into her, and she came like a shot, the pleasure overwhelming. But he didn’t stop, just rode her through the best damn orgasm of her life. She wasn’t sure if she screamed, breathed, or simply endured, completely fogged over by the ecstasy of a friggin’ orgasm thrumming through her system.
Her devil slowed his pace, no longer so intense as he took her, feeling incredibly huge as he continued to pump inside her. “So… Fuck, that’s good. Better than good. Amazing.” He kissed her, still thrusting, his entire body tense. Then he gripped her hips hard enough to bruise.
She toyed with the hair at his nape, and he shivered.
“Sorry. Came twice, so fast. Good thing you brought condoms.”
“No kidding.” Was that her? All breathy and feminine sounding?
Sadie blinked, aware a stranger, a man whose name she did not know, remained inside her. The insanity of it all kept her mute.
He withdrew, then fiddled with the condom and his clothes, she assumed, while she straightened hers. Her panties would never be the same. And neither would her sex life. Hmm. Maybe she should frame them, have him sign her ass before he left. The thought made her want to laugh a little hysterically.
Before she could tell him she had to go, noise from behind the wall at her back stopped them both. A glance beside her showed a hidden door, the crack all but invisible unless you happened to be fucked up against it.
“I don’t believe you.” A woman’s muffled shriek came through.
Next to her, Devil froze.
“You went off script. What did we talk about, Brian?”
“Get off my dick, Sahara.”
Sadie wished she could see her devil. “That sounds like B-Man and Sahara from that motorcycle show,” she whispered.
“Shhh.”
Another man shushing her. What the hell?
He moved closer and caged her with his big body, holding her back to the door while he pressed his ear to the crack. So close, she felt his breath against her neck and did her best to hold in a whole-body shiver. God, the man was sex personified. He had to be human though, right? No way she’d been seduced by the actual devil.
Oh man. Now she felt the need to go to church in the morning.
“What did you think would happen when you brought up that Hallmark crap about building engines together?” Sahara continued. “Gear has never had a schmaltzy bone in that big body. He built engines with Otis because his old man busted his balls to. The only thing you did right was bringing up that chick from Taos. You’re sure she’ll go along with our story?”
“Yeah. That’s something, then.” Brian sounded hopeful. The douche. And here Sadie had felt bad that he’d had his friendship ruined by Gear—who wasn’t as big a jerk as she’d previously thought. “But at least now I’m not a home-wrecker. He is. You’re still beautiful and loyal. He’s the bad guy. You heard Todd. Ratings were beyond what they hoped. We stick it to Gear, start our own show, and the asshole won’t bother us anymore. I always told you I’d make the better partner, Sahara.”
“So you did,” Sahara said, then added something else Sadie couldn’t make out. Except… Oh. The sex sounds coming through the door were impossible to mistake.
She and her devil pulled away at the same time. They moved together toward the bamboo, and Sadie saw the mess of his face.
Her black makeup was on his lips and cheeks. “Hold on.” He stood still as she used a napkin by her discarded plate to clean him up. “Okay, now do me.”
His lips quirked. “Thought I did that already.”
“Ha-ha.” She waited under his hesitant touch, curious that he seemed so gentle now. “I won’t break. Go on. Rub it off.”
“Rub one out, more like,” he muttered, but she saw his grin. “Xena, you are one sexy warrior. I just did you, and I want to bend you over and do you again.”
To her shock, she wanted to let him. Sadie cleared her throat and kept it light. “You say the sweetest things.”
His rough laughter warmed her. “Yeah, that’s me. Mr. Sweet.”
She shook her head. “Speaking of sugary sweet, can you believe what we just heard? I watched them out there on the patio earlier.” She ran down the conversation for him. “At one point I almost thought B-Man was telling the truth. But there was something not right about him. And I really don’t like that Sahara chick. What a bitch.”
His eyes seemed to warm.
“I mean, it’s clear she cheated on the guy. I really hate cheaters.”
“Yeah, me too.”
She heard his underlying emotion. “You’ve been screwed over before, I take it?”
“Yep.”
Sadie sighed. “Me too. I really feel for this Gear guy. You ask me though, his asshole ex-bestie did him a favor. Any woman who’d sleep with her guy’s best friend isn’t worth keeping around.”
“Good point.”
“Me? I’ve been cheated on before. At the end, I was happy to see him go. But still, it makes you question your judgment. Who you can trust.” She paused. “And why am I telling you this?” Maybe he really was the devil in disguise. Sadie didn’t like to share feelings. Sex? Sure. Hearts and flowers, not so much.
“You’re telling me because I get it.” He nodded. “My ex was a waste. But my friend was worse. I mean, who does that? Screws their friend’s fiancée in the guy’s own damn bed?”
“That’s low.” Sadie stared back at the plants. “Man, what I wouldn’t give to pound those two through the floor.”
“I bet you could take ’em.” He winked. “You sure the hell took me.”
Sadie felt her cheeks heat. “On that note, I’d better go.”
“Seriously? No phone number? No ‘I’ll call you later’? No name?”
“I know your name. Satan. The devil. You know me. I’m Xena.” She kissed him on the cheek, then brushed away a black smear of lipstick. “Have a happy Halloween.” She heard the shutting of a door behind her and turned to see B-Man and Sahara. B-Man stopped when he saw Sadie, but Sahara scowled, and then her eyes narrowed. No doubt wondering how much Sadie might have heard.
Sadie glanced behind her and saw only the wall of bamboo. Her devil had disappeared. Smart guy.
“Did you hear enough?” Sahara smiled through her teeth. “Had your ear up to the door, did you? And what are you doing back here? It’s off-limits to regular people.”
Regular people? “First of all, it’s kind of loud in here. It’s a par-ty,” Sadie said slowly. Though to be fair, the sound was muted in this corner, and yeah, with an ear up to that crack in the door, you could hear everything. “Second, who died and made you boss of the party? Or are you fucking the host too?” The look she shot B-Man made it clear Sadie knew about their affair.
“So you were listening at the door. Brian, go get Joaquin.” He gave Sadie a wary glance and left to do the skank’s bidding. “Bitch, do you know who I am? I’m Sahara Blankenship from Motorcycle Madnezz. So watch how you talk to me.”
Annoyed on behalf of herself and people cheated on in general, Sadie growled, “You know what? You can shove your attitude up your ass, Blankenship.”
The woman’s bright-blue eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. “Slut.”
“Shrew. Or is that too big a word for your empty little head?” Sadie scoffed. “You’re nothing but a whore hanging on to fame one desperate finger at a time. Plastic boobs, tummy tucks, and Botox aren’t enough to save your never-there future.”
Sahara shrieked with rage and darted forward. Sadie held her ground, not expecting the cheater to do anything but threaten. To her surprise, Sahara slapped her. Then froze, as if surprised she’d gone through with it.
The slap stung. Sadie, who’d taken some awesome self-defense classes at her gym and liked messing around with martial arts and kickboxing for fun, finally got to put her skills to use. She g
ave the woman a cold stare, then punched her in the face.
Sahara went down, hard. And stayed down, moaning.
Not done with the fight and pumped with adrenaline, Sadie grabbed the woman by the hair and yanked her head up, liking the runny mascara and tears, as well as that bruising eye. “Watch how you talk to Xena, you cheating witch.”
“Oh my God. Come on.” Elliot magically appeared and dragged Sadie away.
Surprised, she’d automatically let go of Sahara’s hair. Sadie would have loved to have taken a hank of bottle-blond tresses as a souvenir.
Her brother sounded frantic. “We have to get out of here before someone sees what you did! She’ll sue, you moron. Get moving.”
Sensing he might have a point, Sadie hustled away with Elliot, wishing she could have shown her devil what she’d done. He’d have gotten a kick out of it. Or to have shown Gear. For sure, the villain would appreciate her moves on his cheating ex.
She sighed. As usual, she’d been a goddess in motion and no one cared.
Elliot continued to ramble as he hurried through the crowd, dragging her with him.
“Now this is a party,” Sadie said with a laugh. She’d met the devil, had incredible sex, and punched a conceited bitch in the face. A trifecta of amazing. “Where are we going next weekend?”
* * *
Gear stared in shock and awe at the quickly departing Amazon who’d punched Sahara in the eye. Oh my God. I’m in love.
He still couldn’t believe it. He’d walked away from Xena when he’d seen Sahara and Brian, because he couldn’t be near them without doing exactly what Xena had done.
Shit. She really smacked the crap out of my lying, cheating ex.
He was grinning from ear to ear, watching from his hiding spot behind the bamboo wall, far back enough Brian hadn’t given him a second glance as he’d run to do Sahara’s bidding. Xena’s brother had been smart to whisk his sister away from the litigious whiner crying on the floor. Man, Sahara played the part, all right. It was a good thing the altercation had taken place in private, or Sahara would have milked the performance for all she was worth.
Another thought occurred. If he stuck around and someone realized who he was under the half mask, he’d end up getting blamed somehow for the punch. Just more ammo to make him appear the creep.
He mingled with the crowd and made his way back to one of the show’s producers. “Hey, Jim. I’m outta here.”
Jim frowned at him. The guy smelled like a brewery but was known to be able to hold his liquor. “Gear? Is that you? I thought you were the Joker.”
“A villain, the devil, it’s all good, right?”
“Uh, okay.” Jim glanced at his cell phone. “It’s only been two hours…”
“Which is one hour more than I agreed to. I’ve been here long enough, I think. Contract fulfilled. And I—”
Just then, Sean, the lighting guy, raced to Jim and whispered in his ear.
Jim perked up. Had he been a dog, his ears would have pointed up, his tail straight out. Scenting fresh prey. “Seriously? Punched by a warrior princess? You have to be kidding me! Get the cameras.”
They raced away, forgetting Gear. He had a feeling problems might follow his sexy warrior if he didn’t head them off. And hell, he owed her. Not just for the incredible sex, but for doing what he could never do to a woman. He grinned. Best party ever.
Directed by a few of Joaquin’s security, he found the guy smoking in a back room, away from the party. They’d met briefly an hour ago, and the rich dude seemed okay. “Um, Joaquin? Can I talk to you?”
“Sure, man. Come on in. Want a hit?” The guy blew a stream of smoke, and the smell accounted for his mellow mood. “Sorry I bailed on the party. Just wanted a minute to myself.” He frowned. “Do I know you? You sound familiar.”
“I’m Gear.” Gear removed his half mask. “We met earlier. I was the Joker then.”
Joaquin’s eyes brightened. “Oh right. Motorcycle Madnezz. Dude, you guys rock!” He stood and crossed the room to shake Gear’s hand.
Not having expected the guy to like him, considering everyone seemed to think him a dickhead for cheating, stealing, and whatever else went wrong on the set, Gear basked in the brief moment of acceptance.
“Thanks. Glad you like the show.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to let you know some chick decked Sahara, and I have a feeling Sahara’s going to be on you to get the woman’s name.”
“Seriously? B-Man told my security something about that, but I thought it was a joke. A catfight and I missed it? Damn.” Joaquin leaned back against his desk and puffed on his joint. “So I’m supposed to know this woman’s name, huh?”
“Something she said made me think you do. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Sahara what you know. It’ll only end up in a lawsuit, and man, the chick did me a solid. Finally, Sahara mouthed off to the wrong person, and she put a stop to it. To be fair, Sahara hit her first. Though I’m sure that detail won’t make it into her recollection of the event.”
Joaquin grinned. “Bet it was awesome to see.”
“Oh yeah.” He coughed. “I mean, I didn’t see anything.”
“Gotcha.” Joaquin laughed. “Man, that is so epic. At my party. Bet your producers get more film over it.”
“Jim’s doing that now.” Gear made a decision and went with it. “So this chick… She was dressed as Xena, Warrior Princess. Tall, dark hair, amazing body. Her brother was dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, and—”
Joaquin’s eyes widened. “Shit. That’s Elliot. My caterer. The warrior must have been his sister. Can’t remember her name, but yeah, she’s a hot one. All toned and shit. Totally right.” Joaquin paused. “She decked Sahara?”
“Allegedly.”
“Right, right. Thing is, man, if there are witnesses, nothing much I can do.”
“No, see, that’s the beauty of it. Sahara mouthed off in a private area, off the dance floor behind a bunch of bamboo plants. No one saw it.”
“Good. That’s makes it easier.” Joaquin laughed again. “Elliot’s sister clocked the motorcycle queen. Classic.”
Gear felt better than he had in a long time. “She’s my hero for sure. So can you tell me where I can find her? I want to thank her in person.”
“Sure. Try Sofa’s, a bakery in Green Lake. They catered for me. Did a bang-up job too.”
“Awesome. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it.” Gear held out a hand, and Joaquin took it.
“So, you blowing MM?”
“Huh?”
“Are you leaving the show, or is all the bullshit just for ratings?”
Gear frowned. “I’m done. No more for me. Time to get back to building motorcycles, period.”
“Yeah? ’Cause I been thinking about getting some custom work done. I collect cars, but your motorcycles are killer.”
“Thanks. Look me up when you feel like a bike. Shit. Not at the shop. I can give you my cell.”
“Yeah, do that.”
He wrote down his cell phone number on a notepad Joaquin handed him. “I’m out of here. Great party, man. Legendary.”
“Right. That’s me. A legend.” Joaquin started laughing again, and Gear thought the weed must have kicked in. He left the millionaire giggling and skirted a sobbing Sahara being comforted by Brian while Todd of the fake tan interviewed her in a quiet corner of the ballroom.
A thought struck, and he went back to his rendezvous spot. Yep, she’d left it behind. He carefully grabbed the fake sword leaning against the wall. Now he had a reason to seek Xena out.
He smiled and left the party, the devil pleased with the hellish night his Amazon had unleashed.
After he arrived home, his sister called to check in.
“What’s up, Iris?”
“Oh my God. Tell me you had nothing to do with Sahara getting belted in t
he face.”
“It hit the news already?”
“It’s making headlines. I saw it on the local news and YouTube. The link is already going viral. Even Thor texted me asking about it, and you know he’s rarely on the computer unless he’s working.”
“Damn.” He explained that a woman he’d met had done the damage. “Sahara was bitching her out, slapped the chick, and finally got her ass handed to her. Man, it was awesome.” He laughed, remembering Sahara’s shock. “The user finally got what was coming to her.”
“Yeah, well, your barbarian friend might get what’s coming to her if she’s not careful.”
“There were a bunch of women in similar costumes at the party. And the crowd helped cover her escape, I think. I hope. She was really cool, Iris. Funny too.”
“Aw, Satan made a friend. Come on, thank me for the costume. I told you changing into a second one would save your butt.”
“You did. Once I got rid of the Joker, I was anonymous. It was great. Plus my producer saw me there, so he can’t claim I left right after the interview. Okay, so that’s my night. Now I’m getting some sleep so I can function tomorrow.”
“Coffee with the family at noon, remember? You know Otis and Orchid are going away for the week. So they’ll want to see you before they go.”
“Sure, fine. Whatever.” He yawned, not faking his exhaustion. The idea of the party, attending it, dealing with Sahara and Brian, had stressed him out. Until a certain savage blew his mind.
He disconnected the call and dropped into bed, still smiling as he drifted into sleep, his dreams full of strong women, swords, and deep-green eyes.
Chapter 4
Sadie was so tired of hearing her brother caution her about keeping quiet about that punch. It wasn’t like she planned to shout it out to the world. Granted, she probably shouldn’t have hit the woman, but she’d been hit first. And it had been so satisfying, as if in punching Gear’s cheater, she’d punched her own ex for doing her wrong.
“Cut me some slack, Elliot. The woman was being bitchy. She freakin’ slapped me. I’m claiming self-defense. Plus, I told you I heard what they said about setting Gear up to be the fall guy. She deserved it.”